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Thomas May
Thomas May (1595 - 13 November 1650) was an English poet, playwright, and historian, Life Overview May was born in Sussex, son of Sir Thomas May, of Mayfield. He went to Cambridge, and then to Gray's Inn, but discarded law for literature. In 1622 he produced his first comedy, The Heir, and also a translation of Virgil's Georgics. In 1627 appeared his translation of Lucan, which gained him the favour of Charles I, at whose command he wrote two poems, The Reigne of King Henry II, and The Victorious Reigne of King Edward III, each in 7 books. When the Civil War broke out May, to the disappointment of his friends, took the side of the Parliament, and was made secretary to the Long Parliament, the historian of which he became, publishing in 1647 The History of the Parliament of England, which began Nov. 3, 1640. This work he prefaced with a short review of the preceding reigns from that of Elizabeth. The narrative closes with the Battle of Newbury, 1643, and is characterised by fullness of information and candor. May was also the author of several tragedies, including Antigone, of no great merit.John William Cousin, "May, Thomas," A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: Dent / New York: Dutton, 1910, 265. Wikisource, Web, Feb. 11, 2018. Youth and education May was the eldest son of Sir Thomas May of Mayfield, Sussex.Firth, 142. He entered at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, on 7 September 1609 as a fellow-commoner, and earned a B.A. in 1612 (Biographia Britannica, 3064; Wood, Athenæ Oxonienses, iii. 810; Berry, Sussex Pedigrees, 36, 56). He wrote his 1st published poem while at Cambridge, an untitled 3-stanza contribution to the University's memorial collection of poems on the death of Henry, Prince of Wales, in 1612.Epicedium Cantabrigiense in obitum immaturum & semper deflendum, Henrici ... (Cambridge: 1612), p.103 Although the majority of this volume's poems are in Latin, May's (along with a few others) is in English. It uses the trope of Pythagorean transmigration, which he re-employs in later works. On 6 August 1615 May was admitted to Gray's Inn (Foster, Gray's Inn Register, p. 137). His father having spent his fortune, and sold the family estate, May "had only an annuity left him, not proportionable to a liberal education." "Since his fortune," continues Clarendon, "could not raise his mind, he brought his mind down to his fortune by a great modesty and humility in his nature, which was not affected, but very well became an imperfection in his speech, which was great mortification to him, and kept him from entering upon any discourse but in the company of his very friends. His parts of art and nature were very good" (Life of Edward, Earl of Clarendon, i. § 33, ed. 1857). Career Prevented by his defective utterance from practising the law, May devoted himself entirely to literature. He turned to the stage, and produced a comedy entitled The Heir, acted in 1620 by the company of the revels, printed 2 years later, and much commended in verses prefixed to it by Thomas Carew. This was followed by another comedy and 3 classical tragedies, none of which obtained much success. May then betook himself to translating the classics, and published in 1628 a translation of the Georgics of Virgil, and in 1629 a version of some of Martial's Epigrams. His translation of Lucan's Pharsalia, published in 1627, passed through 3 editions in 8 years. May followed it up by composing a continuation of Lucan (1630), both in Latin and English verse, which carried the story down to the death of Cæsar. The translation was unstintingly praised by Ben Jonson, and May was permitted to dedicate his continuation to Charles I. An epigram addressed to May compares his fortunes with those of Lucan: Thou son of Mercury whose fluent tongue Made Lucan finish his Pharsalian song, Thy fame is equal, better is thy fate, Thou hast got Charles his love, he Nero's hate. Wit's Recreations, 12, 1640. By the king's command May wrote 2 narrative poems on the reign of Henry II (1633) and Edward III (1635). Charles gave him other proofs of his favor. In January 1634, at a masque performed by the gentlemen of the Inns of Court before the king, May came into collision with the lord chamberlain, the Earl of Pembroke. Pembroke, who did not know him, broke his staff across his shoulders, but the king called May "his poet," and rebuked Pembroke. Next morning Pembroke sent for May, excused himself for his violence, and presented the poet with 50l. (Strafford Papers, i. 207; Secret History of James I, 1811, i. 222).Firth, 143. The death of Ben Jonson in August 1637 left vacant the posts of poet laureate and chronologer to the city of London. Suckling mentions "Lucan's translator" among the candidates for the 1st, and the Earls of Dorset and Pembroke and the king himself wrote to the lord mayor recommending May for the 2nd (Suckling, Works, ed. Hazlitt, i. 7; Index to Remembrancia, pp. 305–6). But Davenant was appointed poet laureate, and the post of chronologer seems to have remained vacant until the appointment of Francis Quarles in February 1639. Contemporaries attributed to this disappointment May's subsequent adoption of the parliamentary cause during the civil wars. "Though he had received much countenance and a considerable donative from the king," says Clarendon, "upon his majesty's refusing him a small pension, which he had designed and promised to another very ingenious person, whose qualities he thought inferior to his own, he fell from his duty" (Life, i. § 32). Wood (Athenæ Oxon. ed. Bliss, iii. 810), Winstanley (Lives of the most famous English Poets, 1687, p. 164), and Edward Phillips (Theatrum Poetarum, 1675, ii. 179) all make the same statement. In a poetical tract, published in 1645, entitled The Great Assizes holden in Parnassus by Apollo, "Mercurius Aulicus" is represented as bringing the charge of ingratitude against May, a charge which Apollo dismisses as arising from mere malice. Civil War and protectorate During the war May lived in the parliament's quarters. He was probably the Thomas May of Allhallows the Great, assessed at 40l. by the committee for advance of money on 2 October 1644 (Calendar, 473). On 19 January 1645-6 May and Sadler were appointed by the House of Commons to draw up a declaration "for vindicating to the world the honour of the parliament, in this great cause of religion and liberty undertaken and maintained by the parliament." They are styled "secretaries for the parliament," promised a salary of 200l. a year jointly, and granted 100l. at once as a reward for past services (Commons' Journals, iv. 410). In 1647 May published his History of the Long Parliament (licensed 7 May 1647; cf. Commons' Journals, v. 175). This was followed by the Breviary of the History of the Parliament of England, published in 1650, in Latin and then in English. Up to the time of his death May was still actively employed in the service of the parliament. On 2 July 1650 the council of state ordered that the "declaration of the parliament of England upon the marching of their army to Scotland be sent to Thomas May to be translated into Latin, that it may be sent into foreign parts" (Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1650, p. 228). Personally May was most closely connected with the free-thinking and free-living section of the republican party. "He became," says Wood, "a debauchee ad omnia, entertained ill principles as to religion, spoke often very slightly of the holy Trinity, and kept beastly and atheistical company, of whom Thomas Chaloner the regicide was one" (Athenæ, iii. 810; cf. Original Letters and Papers of State addressed to Oliver Cromwell, edited by John Nickolls, 1743, 43). May died on 13 November 1650. According to Wood, "going well to bed, he was therein found next morning dead, occasioned, as some say, by tying his nightcap too close under his fat chin and cheeks, which choked him when he turned on the other side." Marvell's poem represents him as dying after too jovial an evening: :As one put drunk into the packet-boat, :Tom May was hurried hence and did not know't. : Marvell, Poems, ed. 1681, 35. The council of state ordered May's friends, Chaloner and Henry Marten v., to arrange for his interment in Westminster Abbey, and voted 100l. for the purpose (Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1650, p. 432).Firth, 144. Writing May's writings fall under the four heads of plays, poems, translations, and prose works. Plays. — 1. ‘The Heir: a Comedy acted by the Company of the Revels, 1620,’ 4to, 1622. Reprinted in Dodsley's ‘Old Plays,’ ed. Hazlitt, vol. xi. This is probably the best of May's dramas (Ward, Dramatic Literature, ii. 348). 2. ‘The Tragedy of Antigone, the Theban Princess,’ 8vo, 1631. Dedicated to Endymion Porter, with a preface on the nature of tragedy and comedy. 3. ‘The Tragedy of Julia Agrippina, Empress of Rome,’ 12mo, 1639 and 1654. 4. ‘The Tragedy of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt,’ 12mo, 1639 and 1654. 5. ‘The Old Couple,’ 4to, 1658 (Dodsley, vol. xii.). 6. ‘Julius Cæsar, a Latin Play.’ ‘The manuscript is in the possession of Mr. Stephen Jones’ (Biog. Dram. 1812). Mr. Fleay gives reasons for supposing that the tragedy of ‘Nero’ (1624) was by May, and holds that ‘The Old Couple’ was the earliest of May's plays (Biog. Chron. of the English Drama, ii. 83, 84). Poems. — 1. ‘The Reign of King Henry the Second. Written in seven books. By his Majesty's Command,’ 8vo, 1633. 2. ‘The Victorious Reign of King Edward the Third.’ Written in seven books. By his Majesty's Command,’ 8vo, 1635. 3. Miscellaneous verse. A manuscript poem, entitled ‘Neptune to King Charles,’ is among the ‘Domestic State Papers’ (Calendar, 1627–8, p. 238). Verses by May are prefixed to ‘The Tournament of Tottenham,’ 4to, 1631, to Alleyn's ‘Battles of Crescy and Poitiers,’ 1633, and to James Shirley's ‘Poems,’ 8vo, 1646. He also contributed an elegy to ‘Jonsonus Virbius,’ 4to, 1638. Translations. — 1. ‘Lucan's Pharsalia, or the Civil Wars of Rome between Pompey the Great and Julius Cæsar,’ 8vo, 1627, 1631, 1635. Verses by Ben Jonson are prefixed, which are also printed in ‘Underwoods,’ p. xxi. 2. ‘Virgil's Georgics, with Annotations on each Book,’ 16mo, 1628. 3. ‘Selected Epigrams of Martial,’ 16mo, 1629. 4. ‘John Barclay his Argenis, translated out of Latin into English, the Prose upon his Majesty's Command by Sir Robert le Grys, knight, and the verse by Thomas May, esq.,’ 1629, 4to (see Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1627–8, pp. 585, 589). 5. ‘The Mirror of Minds, or Barclay's Icon Animorum, englished by T. M.,’ 12mo, 1631. Dedicated to Lord-treasurer Weston. 6. May's English and Latin continuations of Lucan belong in part to both these classes. ‘A Continuation of Lucan's Historicall Poem till the death of Julius Cæsar, by T. M.,’ 8vo, 1630, 1633, 1657. ‘His supplement to Lucan,’ says Clarendon, ‘being entirely his own, for the learning, the wit, and the language, may be well looked upon as one of the best dramatic poems in the language’ (Life, i. 32, ed. 1857). 7. ‘Supplementum Lucani, lib. vii.,’ Leyden, 1640, 8vo. This is a translation of the foregoing, ‘written,’ says Wood, ‘in so lofty and happy Latin hexameter that he hath attained to much more reputation abroad than he hath lost at home.’ Prose Works.— 1. ‘A Discourse concerning the Success of former Parliaments,’ 4to, 1642. May's name is first attached to the second edition of this pamphlet, 1644. 2. ‘The Character of a Right Malignant,’ 4to, 1644. 3. ‘The Lord George Digby's Cabinet and Dr. Goff's Negotiations,’ 4to, 1646. This consists of the correspondence of Lord Digby, captured at Sherburn in October 1645. The ‘Observations’ prefixed to the letters were the joint work of May and Thomas Sadler (Commons' Journals, iv. 410). 4. ‘The History of the Parliament of England which began 3 Nov. 1640, with a short and necessary view of some precedent years. Written by Thomas May, Esq., Secretary for the Parliament,’ fol. 1647. This was published in May 1647 (ib. v. 174). Reprinted by Baron Maseres, with a preface, 1812, 4to, and by the Clarendon press, 8vo, 1854. 5. ‘Historiæ Parliamenti Angliæ Breviarium, tribus partibus explicitum,’ 12mo, 1650. 6. ‘A Breviary of the History of the Parliament of England,’ 1650, 12mo; 2nd edit. 1655. This is a translation of the foregoing, and is reprinted by Maseres in ‘Select Tracts relating to the Civil Wars in England,’ 1815. 7. ‘The Changeable Covenant,’ 1650, 4to. 8. ‘The Life of a Satirical Puppy called Nim.’ By T. M., 8vo, 1657. This is probably attributed to May solely on the evidence of the initials. May's authorship of 2 and 7 is also doubtful.Fith, 145. ''Bellum Civile'' May's career-defining work was his translation of the Latin poet Marcus Annaeus Lucanus's) Bellum Civile. Lucan's is an unfinished narrative of the downfall of the Roman republic in the civil wars between Pompey and Julius Caesar: it laments the loss of republican liberty and institutions and condemns Caesar's immoral ambition. The first 3 books of May's translation appeared in 1626 and the full 10 a year later (with different printers); it was reprinted in 1631, 1635 and 1650, each time with minor corrections. The 1627 edition boasted dedications of Books II to IX to prominent English noblemen, many of whom were actual or suspected opponents of Charles I's ongoing attempts to tax without Parliament. The overall work was dedicated to William, 2nd Earl of Devonshire. May compares the fortitude and patriotism of these aristocrats to the patrician heroes of Lucan's doomed republic. These dedications disappear from later editions and there is some evidence they were defaced or removed, possibly by censors.Thomas May, Wikipedia, July 17, 2017, Wikimedia Foundation. Web, Feb. 12, 2018. ''History'' As a prose writer May's reputation rests on his History of the Long Parliament. It is written in a flowing and elegant style, abounding, like all May's writings, with quotations and parallels from Latin literature. Strafford is compared to Curio, Marie de Medicis to Agrippina. May bases his history on the newspapers and on the official manifestos of the 2 parties. He keeps himself studiously in the background, avoids, as far as possible, any expression of his own opinion, and is silent about his own reminiscences. He professes to relate facts without rhetoric or invective, to recall to the minds of his readers the judgments passed at the time on the facts he records, and to inform the world of the right nature, causes, and growth of the civil strife. Secret motives or hidden causes he makes no attempt to explain. "I cannot," he says, "search into men's thoughts, but only relate the actions which appeared." With the partisans of the parliament the book at once became popular. Mrs. Hutchinson, in her life of her husband, praises "Mr. May's history," as "impartially true, saving some little mistakes in his own judgment, and misinformations which some vain people gave of the state, and more indulgence to the king's guilt than can justly be allowed" (Memoirs of Colonel Hutchinson, ed. 1885, i. 136). A century later Warburton recommended May's work to Hurd, as "written with much judgment, penetration, manliness, and spirit, and with a candour which will greatly increase your esteem when you understand that he wrote by the order of his masters the parliament." Chatham also advised his nephew to read May's History as being "a much honester and more instructive book than Clarendon's." Maseres, who quotes these testimonies, eulogises May's impartiality (History of the Long Parliament, ed. 1854, pp. ix, x). But May deserves praise rather for the moderation of his language than for the independence of his views. A comparison of the History of the Long Parliament with the Breviary shows a remarkable difference both in his style and conclusions. In the History he is the official apologist of the parliament and its original leaders. In the Breviary he is the panegyrist of the army and the independent party. His contemporaries in general regarded him as neither impartial nor honest. "Most servile wit and mercenary pen" is Marvell's scathing verdict. With obvious reference to May, the Duchess of Newcastle alludes to historians of the civil war, who "were such parasites, that after the king's party was overpowered, the government among the rebels changing from one faction to another, they never missed to exalt highly the merits of the chief commanders of the then prevailing side, comparing some of them to Moses, and some others to all the great and most famous heroes, both Greeks and Romans" (Life of the Duke of Newcastle, ed. 1886, lix). Guizot, in the account of May, originally prefixed to his translation of the History, criticises his historical works with great severity, speaks of his "adroit partiality," and accuses him of misrepresenting the facts by "omission, palliation, and dissimulation" (Portraits Politiques des Hommes de différents Partis, ed. 1874, p. 123). Recognition May was buried in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, "on the west side of the large south aisle or transept," and a large monument of white marble erected over his grave, with an epitaph by Marchmont Nedham (Wood, iii. 811). At the Restoration his body was taken up, by warrant dated 9 September 1660, and buried in a mass grave in the yard of St. Margaret's Church, Westminster. His monument was taken down and its place filled in 1670 by that of Dr. Thomas Triplet (ib.; Chester, Westminster Abbey Registers, p. 521). In 1880 a new memorial stone to him was place in Poets' Corner.Thomas May, People, History, Westminster Abbey. Web, July 12, 2016. A portrait of May, with a laurel-wreath over his head, is prefixed to his Breviary of the History of the Parliament of England, 1655. Publications Poetry *''A Continuation of Lucan's historicall poem'' (in Latin). London: J. Haviland, for James Boler, 1630. **in English as A Supplement to the Pharsalia of Lucan; translated from the Latin (translated by Edmund Potter). London: T. Cadell / R. Faulder, 1786. *''The Reigne of King Henry the Second, written in seaven bookes. London: Augustine Matthewes & John Beale, for Benjamin Fisher, 1633 **(edited by Götz Schmitz). Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 1999. *''The Victorious Reigne of King Edward the Third, written in seven bookes. London: T. Walkley & B. Fisher, 1635. Plays *''The Heire: An excellent comedie. London: B.A., for Thomas Jones, 1622. *''The Tragedie of Antigone, the Theban princesse. London: Thomas Harper, for Benjamin Fisher, 1631. *''The Tragedie of Cleopatra, Queen of Aegypt''. London: Thomas Harper, for Thomas Walkly, 1639. *''The Tragedie of Julia Agrippina, Empresse of Rome''. London: Ric. Hodgkinsonne, for Thomas Walkly, 1639. *''Two Tragedies: viz., Cleopatra, Queene of Ægypt, and Agrippina, Empress of Rome''. London: Humphrey Moseley, 1654. *''The Old Couple: A comedy''. London: J. Cottrel, for Samuel Speed, 1658. Non-fiction *''A True Relation from Hvll of the State and Condition it is in''. London: G. Dexter, for Iohn Bull, 1643. *''A Discourse Concerning the Successe of Former Parliaments''. London: 1642. *''The Character of a Right Malignant'' doubtful. London: 1645. *''The Lord George Digby's Cabinet, and Dr Goff's negotiations''. London: Edward Husband, 1646. *''The History of the Parliament of England. London: M. Bell, for G. Thomason, 1647; London: R. Wilks, 1812 **abridged as ''A Breviary of the History of the Parliament of England: Expressed in three parts. London: Rob. White, for Thomas Brewster & Gregory Moule, 1650. *''The Changeable Covenant'' doubtful. London: G.D., for Thomas Brewster & Gregory Moule, 1650. Translated *John Barclay, Iohn Barclay His Argenis, translated out of Latin (verse by May, prose by Robert Le Grys). London: G. Purslowe, for Henry Seile, 1625. *Lucan, Lucans Pharsalia; or, The civill warres of Rome. London: Iohn Norton & Augustine Mathewes, for Math. Law, 1626; London: Augustine Matthewes for Thomas Iones, 1631. *Virgil, Virgil's Georgicks Englished. London: Humphrey Lownes, for Thomas Walkley, 1628.. *Martial, Selected Epigrams of Martial Englished. London: Humphrey Lownes, for Thomas Walkley, 1629. *John Barclay, The Mirrour of Mindes; or, Barclay's Icon animorum, Englished. London: Iohn Norton, for Thomas Walkley, 1631. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search resultes = au:Thomas May 1650, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Aug. 16, 2016. See also *List of British poets *List of English-language playwrights References * . Wikisource, Web, Feb. 12, 2018. * Chester, Allan Griffith, Thomas May: Man of letters, 1595–1650 (Philadelphia: U. of Pennsylvania 1932) is still the best study of May in English. Notes External links ;Books * Works by Thomas May at the Internet Archive. ;About * May Family History: Thomas May *Thomas May at Westminster Abbey * May, Thomas (1595-1650) Category:1590s births Category:1650 deaths Category:English historians Category:English poets Category:Members of Gray's Inn Category:People from Mayfield, East Sussex Category:Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Category:Burials at St Margaret's, Westminster Category:17th-century English writers Category:English male poets Category:17th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:English dramatists and playwrights